Spiral wire conveyor belts (i.e., belts where one of the wires is a spiral wire) have been used to facilitate the “Conveyorizing” of numerous processes which otherwise would have to be done by batch or non-continuous methods. Spiral wire conveyor belts include balanced weave wire belts, double weave wire belts, rod reinforced weave wire belts, chevron weave wire belts, double balance weave wire belts, and single weave wire belts. The major function of these previously known conveyor belts is to allow the conveyed product to be treated in some manner as the belt moves the conveyed product from one location to another location.
Conventional spiral wire belts place a premium on the conveying surface formed by the spiral wire conveyor belt. For example, several forms of spiral wire belts are formed to maximize the aggregate surface area of the conveying surface of the belt which necessarily minimizes the size of the openings. This is readily evident when comparing a balance weave belt with a double weave belt. The double weave belt has significantly greater aggregate surface area of the conveying surface of the belt and considerably smaller openings than the balance weave belt. To improve the conveying surface of the balance weave belt, it has been known to flatten the top and bottom walls of the spiral wires. The flattening of the top wall and bottom wall of the spiral wires of the balance weave belt accomplishes two objectives, i.e., it increases the aggregate surface area of the conveying surface and provides a flat conveying surface more suitable for conveying some products. This flattening of the top wall and bottom wall of the spiral wires of the balance weave belt also decreases the opening size which is consistent with conventional thinking employed in the design of spiral wire belts.
The aforementioned previously known wire weave conveyor belts have several inherent limitations which include but are not limited to strength and opening size.
The preferred form of the present invention is directed at overcoming both of these limitations by utilizing a design of spiral wire belt that swims upstream or directly against conventional thinking. Specifically, the preferred form of the present invention significantly increases opening size of the openings formed in the conveying surface which necessarily decreases aggregate conveying surface area contrary to conventional spiral wire belt design. The process of the present invention by which the opening sizes are increased acts to significantly increase the strength of the wire weave conveyor belt without changing the size or cross-sectional area of any of the wires forming the spiral wire weave conveyor belt. The increase in the size of the openings formed in the conveying surface of a preferred form of the present invention occurs without changing the size or cross-sectional area of any of the wires forming the wire weave conveyor belt. The advantages obtained by the preferred form of the present invention further allow a conveyor belt to be formed from a smaller diameter wire while maintaining the strength of a conventional wire weave conveyor belt formed from a larger diameter wire. The preferred form of the present invention further allows for the use of larger size wires while still maintaining the same opening size of conveyor belts formed from smaller wires. By using a larger diameter wire while maintaining the opening size normally achieved with a smaller wire, the strength of the belt is significantly increased without affecting the size of the openings formed in the conveyor belt.